Dallas captures East with two more wins

Updated 8:18 pm, Saturday, December 22, 2012

ARLINGTON — The Dallas Cowboys will walk into their $1.2 billion stadium today controlling their own playoff destiny, but that could change if they lose to the New Orleans Saints.

No matter the outcome of the game, the Cowboys (8-6) can neither clinch a playoff spot nor be eliminated before next weekend's regular-season finale against the Washington Redskins.

Dallas is in a three-way tie for first in the NFC East with the New York Giants and Redskins. The Cowboys can claim their first division title since 2009 if they win their final two games or if they beat the Redskins on Dec. 30 in Landover, Md., and the Giants suffer at least one loss in the final two weeks.

Washington plays at Philadelphia (4-10) at noon today. The Giants are at Baltimore (9-5) at 3:25 p.m. before hosting the Eagles next weekend.

It's a long shot that Dallas will enter the playoffs as a wild card after losing to Seattle and Chicago, clubs vying for the NFC's fifth and sixth seeds. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head results.

Although he knows others are looking ahead, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has his team focused solely on beating the Saints (6-8).

“If you start thinking if this happens, that happens, it's too much,” linebacker Anthony Spencer said. “There are too many what-ifs that go into it. We're only really focused on the things we can control.”

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees triggers a high-powered offense that ranks fourth in the league in scoring average (27.1 points per game). The Saints are last in the league in total defense, yielding 433.3 yards per game, but that didn't stop them from blanking Tampa Bay 41-0 last week.

“It's just a tough test against this team,” Dallas quarterback Tony Romo said. “They're a great offense and the defense, although statistically they don't look as great, has been playing really well lately. I know (New Orleans) has a very small chance to make the playoffs. But if they were a playoff team, they would be a very dangerous one.”

The Saints have won six of the past seven meetings with the Cowboys. New Orleans also has won the past three games at Dallas, including a 30-27 decision at Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 25, 2010, the last time the clubs met.